The Road To Apathy
by mindspirit
Summary: After the betrayal of the demon Malkior, we find Raven questioning herself and what she is. Is she just a teenager, or will her nature reveal her true


The Road To Apathy

By mindspirit

Disclaimer

I do not own The Teen Titans, nor should this be used on a website or copied without obtaining permission of the author. This story is for entertainment purposes only.

Ok. I do not wish to boast, but I have begun to write a few books, and one of them will be published very soon now. One day, quite by accident I happened to turn on the TV, and saw an episode of the Teen Titans. A couple of friends had told me about the show, but up till then, I had never seen it, but when I did, I was hooked. SO one day, i sat down and thought, "Now if I can write all this other stuff, why can't I write an episode of the Teen Titans?" To tell you the truth I wasn't sure that I could, but once I got started, it was turning out just fine. I guess if you want to know the trick to writing, part of it is that you have to hear, see, and feel everything in your head. The personalities and situation in the story have to be real. With that, I hope this story is to your liking. Please send me any comments or suggestions if you would like me to send more stories of the TT's at Hope you enjoy it.

In love and friendship,

mindspirit

The Road To Apathy

By mindspirit

Raven sat in her room, thinking on the events that had occurred with Malkior, the demon that had tricked her into using dark magic to defeat her emissaries. At the time, Raven felt that she could move mountains if she chose. But, there was something that terrified her. As she was fighting with her enemies, and later with Malkior after she had released him from the book, Raven discovered to her horror that she enjoyed the power that she received when invoking her powers through the arcane magic of the incantations.

Raven began to question herself. What was she? Was she a demon or just a teenage girl with a strange and terrible gift? Or was she both? Some twisted freak, half demon half girl, with the demon side of herself being more and more in control these past few days? She knew that she was part demon, and that her mother had been raped by her father before she had been taken to the place called Azerath. Raven didn't like to think of her father very much. When she thought of all the frightening times her father would come flying into her room and would hurl her against the wall, his eyes glowing fiery red, his hands fashioned into claws.

One time, the demon had pulled her toward him, his lips turned up in a half smile. "You are nothing," he said to her as he looked into Raven's terrified face. "Just a pitiful little girl that hides in her room all day." Then her father had slapped her, hard across the face, his claws digging in to her flesh as they brushed past. The dresser rose off the floor, almost to the ceiling, then slammed to the floor with an earth-shattering thud. Instinctively, Raven drew back as her father's hairy hand swiped at her again. This time the end table smashed into the wall, causing the plaster to fall around it in a fine mist. Raven razed her hands again, and her father could feel that press against his chest, could both hear and feel the minute whine of energy in his body as Raven's anger began to come forth and overwhelm her. She knew what would happen if her anger got free, and it took all her will power to hold it back.

When she was very young, and her mother had tried schooling her with the other children, a Boy named Jeon had tried to take the doll her mother had made for her. The next instant, the Boy named Jeon had flew backward, sailing into the picture board the teacher use to draw on, sending it crashing to the floor. Raven had been punished, and she had never been allowed to go to school with the other children again, out of fear that she would inadvertently harm one of the children. She had then been schooled by a man named Quork. He taught Raven to control her powers, as well as the laws of nature, the arts, scientific applications, as well as the art of concentration. She had been told never to use her powers for evil, and to try and direct them for good.

Now Raven thought back on her father with a bitterness that she herself could not describe. He wasn't a father. she wasn't even a child, just a bastard spawned by some malevolent, terrible, and inhumane creature. All Raven could think of was his ugly, leering face over her, the way his hands with their claws dug into her arms when ever he wanted to talk to her.

"You are part of me, and always will be, Raven. You cannot escape your destiny. The blood that flows through your veins is mine as it is yours, and it is our destiny in life to destroy. You cannot escape." "Was he right?" Raven wondered.

She was interrupted by a knock at her door. "Ray? Raven? Come on! Open up! We're headin' to the mall." Beast Boy jumped back as the door to Raven's room flew open. "All right," Raven said, a touch of irritation in her voice, "I'll be right down!" The door closed with a loud thud.

Beast Boy headed downstairs, where Robin, Starfire, and cyborg were waiting for Raven to join them. "Is Raven going with us?" Starfire asked. "She said she was coming," Beast Boy said, slumping his shoulders. "What is it?" Starfire asked, "Is something troubling you?" "It's Raven," Beast Boy said, sitting down heavily on the couch, "She seemed Kinda' out of it today, and when I asked her if she was going with us, she nearly bit my head off, and I wouldn't taste good at all!" "Raven may be strange at times, Beast Boy, but we have to except that she isn't your average teenager," Robin said. "None of us are." Cyborg put in, "Look, its probably just a phase, she'll get over it." "I dunno'" Beast Boy said worriedly, "Ever since she fought with that demon Malkior, she's been actin', well, I dunno'...

Strange, and I'm not talkin' about your everyday creepy strange, I mean really strange. Weirder than usual!" "Well, if she wants to talk about it, she will in time," Robbin said, "Talk about what," said a husky voice from the shadows. All eyes turned to see Raven, dressed in black trousers and shirt, looking forebodingly at the others. Starfire looked in Raven's direction. "We were discussing---" "If you wanted to go to the mall." Cyborg added quickly. He didn't want to anger Raven more than she probably already was, " But, your here, so we're ready. Uh. Heheh." The titans parked their bikes next to the mall, and went into the building's large interior.

"So, uhh, where do you want to go now, Raven?" Robin asked. "Leave me alone." Raven said, walking in the opposite direction. "Dude! What's up with her?" Beast Boy exclaimed. "Just leave her be," Cyborg said resting a hand on Beast Boy's shoulder to keep him from pursuing her, "She'll open up when she wants too." "I do not know," said Starfire, "She seems unusually preoccupied."

Raven walked aimlessly around in the huge shopping mall, trying to work out her issues with her past, and with her father. "The nightmares Raven had been having had been getting increasingly worse.

IN one, the house that Raven had lived in during her childhood was burning to the ground. Raven's eyes went to the smoking ruins that had once been her and her mother's living room. She began to search desperately for her mother. Climbing through the still smoking ruins, through the burned furniture, the dresser that once sat in her room, she suddenly tripped over something. She looked down to see the body of her mother lying in front of her, her clothes now tatters of smoking rags over the form of the woman who had raised her since birth. "Mom." Raven sobbed. Then, a piercing laughter came from the corner of the ruined house. Looking in that direction, Raven saw her father, his clawed hands splayed out as if reaching for her, for her mother. "You see, Raven? Your destiny cannot be changed. You are what you are." Then, her father transformed once again. Instead of being just a man with claws and red eyes, he was now Malkior, his thin lips smiling at her, mocking her. "I could have loved you if you'd given me the chance. Just like your father could have." "You lied to me!" Raven screamed, standing on the edge of her control, "I thought you liked me for who I was. All you wanted to do is get out of that stupid book!" Now, it was her father again. "You say that the book is stupid now, Raven, but you wanted to read it. You wanted to read it because you enjoyed the evil, the magic. You still do!" "No," Raven said thrusting out her hand.

Suddenly, titans tower was in front of her, and she...

Had she done it? The tower had begun to sway on its foundation, and Raven could see Starfire at the window looking down at her. Raven, what have you done!" "You have destroyed Beast Boy!" "No!" Raven screamed. The tower fell, like a stack of collapsing dominoes, on to the street below. And the last thing Raven heard were her friends screams, and the voice of her father, "You enjoyed it Raven! You liked it!"

"Can I help you, ma'm?" said a female voice. Raven snapped out of her thoughts to see a woman that had "Customer assistance" printed on her shirt. "Huh? Uhh, no, I'm fine," Raven said dubiously. "Ok, Hun."

Raven continued to walk in the direction of the parking lot. She would get on her bike, and head home. Normally, she would tell the titans where she was going, but she just didn't feel like it today. She passed the roes of clothes racks, arts and crafts, candles... Then, something caught her eye!

Madam Wania, spiritual counselor and advisor. "Heh, that sounds productive. Maybe I could use some counseling right about now. Maybe she's just another rip off, and I'm just wasting my time here." Raven entered Madam Wania's booth. "Read your palm, sweety?" said the woman.

She was dressed all in black, and wore a copper bracelet on her ankle. "Sure," Raven said, giving the woman her hand. "The cost is five dollars, dear," the woman said. Raven handed her the money, and then, gave the woman her hand.

The woman's grip was somehow strange. Old, but somehow comforting, and Raven had never felt anything like it! "Azerath Metrion Zynthos," Raven muttered to herself. She could feel herself slipping out of her self-control. "You are a very powerful woman, and I'm going to be quite frank with you, darling. I sense a darkness in your spirit, but there is the light too. The two have been battling with one another for years now. There was some family tragedy I think, something that forced you to be on your own." "What else do you see?" Raven asked, intrigued. "I see a man. He is dressed all in black. I can't see his face, but something will happen concerning you and this man. I can not tell what it is, but it is something unfortunate. I cannot see what."

"How can I fight what has been happening to me." The woman nodded, as if in understanding. "First, you must realize that the gentlemen in your life, has no power over you, but you gave him that power... Long, long ago. I hate to tell you this, darling, but life is not what you would call easy. You've got to fight for what you believe in. In that," the woman continued, "You must understand that the past cannot harm you." "Tell that to my subconscious," Raven said cynically. The woman smiled knowingly. "You must learn to face your past with honesty. Know that it is the past, and that it will continue to harm you if you let it." Raven got up. "This is getting me no where." "Wait," the woman said, grabbing Raven's arm, "Let me go," Raven said, giving the woman a mental shove. The woman staggered backward. Then, she looked at Raven as the teen's icy glare seemed to penetrate every cell of her being. "You," the woman stammered, "You must learn to combat your past with your purity." "What purity!" Raven spat. The booth behind the woman began to jitter mindlessly back and forth, "Any purity I had was lost years ago!" "You are wrong!" the woman said, "It is still there! It is just invisible because of your darkness! Just look inside yourself and you will find it!" "You don't know nothing!" Raven suddenly shouted, "All my life I have been fighting myself. And you act like its just so easy. That's not the way it happens in my life! You get it?" IN spite of herself, Raven could feel a gentle throbbing at her temples.

Suddenly, a large potted plant that had up to now been sitting at the opposite end of madam Wania's booth hurled itself at the woman's head. The woman fell without a sound, a mix of fear and pain on the woman's face. But Raven thought she could see something else. Was that pity? For whom? For her?

Raven began to run through the store, causing a few heads to turn in her direction. "Raven, wait!" It was Robin. "Leave me alone!" Raven said, thrusting out her hand. Robin felt himself being pushed backward. "You don't want to do this!" Raven relaxed, but a trace of the fury was still in her voice. "Just leave me alone." "What happened to that woman back there." "She was nothing but a dumb quack. So, just leave me alone."Abruptly, Raven turned on her heal, and fled the shopping mall. "What's up with her?" Cyborg asked as he reached Robin. "I don't know." Robin said. "Maybe the woman who was injured had told her something to make her upset." "But, what," Cyborg asked, troubled. "I don't know, but I think we should look for her." Robin said. "No way!" Beast Boy said, "She's mad as it is! If we go looking for her, she might go nuclear!" "Look, normally, I'd side with Beast Boy on this one, but I think the girl needs help," Cyborg interjected. "I agree." Starfire said, echoing cyborg's sentiment. "All right," Robbin said, "We'll have to take it slow. If Raven doesn't want to talk about what ever it is that's bothering her, than we'll just have to let it be. Now, lets go."

Raven sat in her room, trying to once again gain control of herself. It seemed that everything was crashing in on her at once, and she could do nothing about it. The dresser rose about a foot in the air and crashed to the floor. "Stop it!" Raven shouted furiously, "You still have control." IN answer, the mirror that sat on her dresser began to crack down its center with a grinding rip, and a horribly grotesque face pushed its way through. It stared at Raven, an evil grin lighting up its hidious features. "No!" Raven screamed, "I stopped you years ago!" The demon laughed. "No, daughter. You thought you did, but I'll always be there for my little girl. Always." The demon pushed his shoulders through the mirror, then he was in the room.

"i knew if you got angry enough I'd be able to get through. And now, I'm going to do what I should've done long ago. Your mother never did truly understand our true nature. All she wanted for you to do is play with dolls." Suddenly, Raven felt her arms pinned to her sides. The demon had placed her in some kind of forcefield. "Let me out! Azerath Metrion Zynthos!" The field shimmered, then... stood still. Raven's powers began to wain. She felt as if her body had been drained of energy. "Well, daughter, it is time that you learn what true power is." The demon turned, and shot bolts of energy from his fingertips, striking Raven in the chest. Instantly, Raven's body was wracked with pain, as if she had been hit with a sledgehammer! "You see, daughter?" the demon said, "There is no escape. You will truly come to know your destiny." Another burst of energy. Raven felt as if her flesh were on fire."

Beast Boy, now in the form of a cat ambled his way up the stairs. Pausing outside Raven's door, he listened for any sound. "Raven? Ray?" "Beast Boy, go away!" Raven said from inside. "I wanna' help you! We all wanna' help you." "Go away!" Then, there came the sound of energy bolts, although Beast Boy did not know that was what they were, a high crackling whine that made his hair stand on end. "Ray, what are you doing in there?" "Uuuhh. Go away!" Then, there was a blast of energy from inside that shook the door on its hinges. Beast Boy leapt back instinctively and bounded down the stairs, where he crashed headlong into Cyborg.

"What's goin' on?" Beast Boy shape shifted into himself again. "Raven's really messin' with something dangerous in there." "What do you mean?" Robin asked. "I don't know," Beast Boy said, "But, what ever it is, its tearing her apart!" "Then we must go up and help her!" Starfire said. "Right," Robin said, "Is there anything else you can tell us?" "No," Beast Boy said, "Just be careful. What ever it is, its strong." Then, the titans headed up the stairs, Cyborg in the lead, Robin just behind, Beast Boy, and then Starfire.

Trigan sat, his huge hands resting on his knees. He was using all his power to simultaneously drain Raven of her energy, and eventually he would bend her to his will. Raven lay on the floor of her room, surrounded by the pulsing light of her father's energy. "Must...

Fight it!" she thought, "I can't let him win." But she could tell she was losing. Little by little, Raven could feel her control ebbing away as the demon pelted her with bolt after bolt of its energy. Then, it seemed that she could feel hands, cold, rough hands that entwined themselves in her hair, pulling at her skin, traveling over and invading her entire body. Suddenly, Raven knew what was happening! Trigan was trying to enter her body! "No!" Raven cried, and with all the strength she could muster, she tried to fight the demon off! "You cant. I won't let you."All at once, her father was looming over her. "Yes I can," he whispered, "Don't you know I am the source of your powers? I took your mother when she was just a young girl. I will be your control. From now on." With one last "effort, Raven tried to get up, to keep herself from being taken over by the demon's brute strength. But just as it seemed that she would win, Trigan slammed through Raven's defenses all at once. To Raven, it felt as if her body would brake beneath the assault. Her brain felt as if it were on fire, and it seemed that the whole world were a fiery explosion of red before everything went black. At the last second, she tried to send out a message, hoping someone would hear her.

The team had almost reached the top of the stairs when suddenly Beast Boy recoiled as if in pain. "What is it?" Starfire asked. "Something's wrong with Raven." "Yeah, that's what we're gonna' see about now!" Cyborg said. "No, you don't understand!" Beast Boy said frantically, "I mean something's really wrong with Raven! Really, terribly wrong!" Just then the door to Raven's room opened, and Raven stepped out into the hall.

Her face was a mask of sleep, but her eyes flashed with an intensity Robin had never seen before. "Raven, what---" But before Robin could finish his question, he was blown backward where he crashed into the others. "Raven, what's happening to you." "Destruction is my destiny." Robin and the others froze. The voice was that of Raven, but it had a deep undertone that sounded altogether evil.

"That is not Raven." Starfire said picking herself up. "But, who is it?" Cyborg asked. Suddenly, Raven, or at least the creature that was in control of her body, flew over the heads of the titans to land at the foot of the stairs. "My destiny is to destroy." said the strange malefic voice that issued from Raven's lips. Raven then turned and headed out the door, and into the night.

"Definitely not Raven," Robbin said. "See what I mean?" Beast Boy asked. "Yeah," Robin said, "Come on, lets follow her before she does something dangerous."

Raven stood in a trance, her body and mind now control entirely by the demon as it looked at the city that stretched for miles below him. "Destruction is my destiny," Raven said. Suddenly, Raven spread her arms and unlashed a wave of energy directly at the city, meaning to leveling it to the ground.

Robbin and the rest of the titans watched as the deadly energy bolts moved ever closer to the city, and toward the millions of people that inhabited its walls. "She's gonna' destroy the city!" Cyborg said. "Star!" Robbin said, "Fly over and try and redirect her powers before she can cause any damage! The rest of us will cover you! Titans, go!"

All four of the titans got into position. Starfire flew, in a diagonal path until she was directly behind Raven. The rest of the Titans fanned out in a line beside her. Starfire tried to deflect the deadly energy from hitting its mark by using her own energy, but it seemed that Raven was no longer in control, and the being inside her was using her body as a conduit, extracting energy from the surrounding environment and from Raven's cells, planning to use it to destroy the entire city. The young Tameranian knew that it would take a lot to defeat the terrible force that lurked inside her friend. Starfire fired an energy bolt, knocking Raven sideways before flying backward to avoid the electronic death that sped toward her. starfire saw that Raven's face was a mask of sleep, but the corners of her mouth turned upward in a sinister smile. "You think you can stop me. Trigan rules the world and all in it." Beast Boy transformed into a grizzly bear and tried to hold Raven's body still, but the teen was blown backward by a burst of energy as Trigan sent the force from Raven's head slamming into Beast Boy's chest.

"Raven, you've got to stop him!" Beast Boy said, getting to his feet. Raven turned, her eyes staring and glassy, as she gazed at the group surrounding her. suddenly, Cyborg went crashing backward into a news stand, his mettle framework echoing hollowly as it connected with the box that held all the papers. Suddenly, he felt a prickling sensation that began at his toes and began to travel up his body. "Hey, cut it out." It felt as if his skin were on fire. Cyborg thought this an irony, considering that he had no skin. But, he knew what was really happening. The creature inside of Raven was using her powers to fry his electrical components, and damaging his circuits in the most efficient way possible so that soon, if he didn't do something in a hurry, his programming would be shot. Quickly, the robot launched a small missile at Raven, knocking her backwards. Enraged, the creature got up from where it had fallen, and delivered three solid and precise blows that rocked the robot to his core.

Cyborg looked down in horror to see his chest plate hanging by one hinge, and the battery that gave him life dangled from its wires. "Oh, shoot," he said, gripping the battery pack in one hand, "He almost hit my power cell." The demon laughed triumphantly as he moved in for the kill. This time, the fool would not live. But before he could deliver the blow that would put Cyborg out of commission, Robin struck the demon from behind, knocking Raven unconscious.

At titans tower, Robin walked out of the observation room and closed the door behind him. The other titans were gathered around the window through which they could all see Raven's prone figure who was lying on a table, her wrists and ankles strapped down, and wires were hooked up to a monitor that stood in the center of the room.

"Is she gonna' be all right?" Beast Boy asked. "Don't know," Robin said. "What do you mean?" asked Starfire. Robin turned to Beast Boy and Starfire. "Trigan was using Raven's body to destroy the city with her powers. But, when I had to hit her to keep her from destroying Cyborg it knocked her unconscious! We're worried that the sudden change in energy may have shocked her system," Robin said. "So, how do we help her?" Beast Boy asked, looking frantically at Robin and Cyborg. "All we can do is wait," Cyborg said. "This is your fault!" Beast Boy said, looking at Robbin angrily, "If you haden't've hit her, Raven wouldn't be in there!" "You're right," Cyborg said humorlessly, "Robin should've let her take me apart to see how many transistors she could mess with." Beast Boy's face fell. Robin put a hand on his shoulder. Beast Boy wanted to shrug it off, wanted to turn around and slug the one nearest to him, but all at once it seemed that his body had been made of rubber. "Look, I know you're upset, but there's nothing we can do," Robbin said, "Raven has to pull out of this herself. "Can't you bring up her brainwaves or something?" Beast Boy asked. "If we did anything like that it might kill her," Cyborg said. RObin turned to Beast Boy. "All we can do is wait."

raven fought against the titanic forces that seemed to overwhelm her brain, assaulting her senses with a dozen images that coalesced and dissolved into one another. The team as they celebrated Raven's birthday, the day she had gotten angry and accidentally set the cake on fire. Beast Boy as he sat talking to her in her room after another demon had betrayed her. What was it that he had said? "You will never be alone." A dark force swept over her as she was thinking these thoughts, a force of malevolence and hatred. Raven could almost taste the demons breath, could feel his hairy clawed hands as they reached to push her out of her temporary position of control inside her head.

"You cannot escape your destiny.", said the demons derisive voice, "You and I are one." "No!" Raven said in sudden anger, "You left me when I was a child! You raped my mother just so you could have a little fun! You know nothing about love, Trigan." The demon gripped the girls arm and looked into her face, a sneer on his thin lips. "You cannot escape the force inside you. It is what you are. You are part of me, and you are chained to your destiny." Then, she heard Madam Wania's voice, seeming to come from a long way off. It is still there! It is just invisible because of your darkness! Just look inside yourself and you will find it!" Raven broke free from the creature that taunted her. With all her strength, she began to fight against her father, against the symbol of all her pain as she had never fought before.

The titans stood outside the observation room, waiting to se if Raven would revive. suddenly, they realized that something was beginning to happen. Raven's body was beginning to writhe on the table. Her straps broke with a series of snapping sounds, and a being that Robin could only imagine in his nightmares emerged from Raven's body, like the shadows that swirl and dance in the mysterious lakes of Azerath. A creature, to horrible to describe, stood before them.

It looked to be something with huge, hairy forearms that ended in claws, and a huge hulking frame that stood on two powerful legs. Then, Beast Boy and the others could see that Raven was on her feet. She faced the demon squarely, glaring into the creature's cold, dark eyes.

"My friends were right. I'm not alone. I should have destroyed you a long time ago." The demon laughed. "No one is powerful enough to destroy Trigan." "No," Raven said, "But I can still send you back where you belong." "what?" Raven pointed her hands at the huge form. "Nooo!" "Azerath Metrion Zynthos!" With a scream of rage, the demon flew out a window, and disappeared into the night sky.

Raven sat in her room, a thousand questions going through her mind. Suddenly, their was a knock on her door. "Uhh, Raven? Can I come in." The door opened by itself, revealing Beast Boy standing there, looking indecisive, as if he expected to see Raven's father, in all his terrible power reaching out for him with his clawed hands, ready to pull him into that dark world of Raven's that he still did not understand.

"I just wanted to see if you were ok." "I'm fine," Raven said. " "Tell ya' the truth," Beast Boy said, "I didn't think you were gonna' make it. How did you stop him?" "Well, when I was in control, after Cyborg knocked me unconscious, I remember thinking of you guies, and what you said to me after Malkior lied to me. You were right, Beast Boy. I'm not alone, and that helped me to fight back."

"Where is Trigan now?" "somewhere in the universe. Somewhere where he can't harm us. I sent him behind the porthole that leads to Azerath. It's a reality that is nothing. The wise ones in Azerath will know what to do with him." "So, does that mean he's gone for good." "No," Raven said darkly, "But he will be put in a place where he won't be able to harm anyone for a long time." "So, that means things are back to normal, right?" "Yeah." The door burst open, and Starfire bounced enthusiastically from one foot to another.

"Come, you must join us in a celebration of welnip Sacallithat." "welnip Saliwhat a thap?" Beast Boy asked. "Welnip Sacallithat," Starfire said, beaming, "It is a celebration that one has when a friend has returned to you." Raven grimaced. Yes," the teen realized, "Some things would never change." "I'll be right there, just give me a minute," Raven said, gesturing that everyone leave the room.

Raven walked over to her mirror that sat on her dresser. It was normal, just a mirror, reflecting the same emotionless expression it always had. But there were still some questions Raven could not find the answers to. was her father right? Would she be cursed forever with her powers? Would she one day lose the shred of humanity she had left and finally give into her demon side? Raven knew instinctively that she would never lose her powers, but she also knew that she had friends who she could depend on when times got difficult. Raven walked out of her room to join the others in their celebration. But before she closed the door, Raven thought, just for an instant, she heard someone…

Laughing.


End file.
